If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Re: SCREW YOU HOSSA!!!

The loss was especially hard on Red Wings' misfiring sniper Marian Hossa who spurned the Pens to sign a one-year deal with Detroit as he believed it presented him the best opportunity to win a cup. Hossa struggled mightily under the expectations and was held without a goal in the series.

"Regret? I don't have any regrets," Hossa said following the game. "Whether your like it or not, in life, there's going to be pressure. It squeezes you. It's very difficult to play like that."

In the opinion of TSN hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, that pressure was too much for the normally high scoring Slovak.

"Hossa was physiologically spooked in a big way and just completely off his game," McKenzie stated. "I thought he played better in Game 7, he got a little more going and he seemed to be skating more free and easy, but in the grand scheme of things that's got to be a tough hand shake going down that line."

Former player and current NHL on TSN analyst Ray Ferraro was less generous with his assessment of Hossa's play.

"If you want to try and pick maybe one significant event that determined what the outcome of this series was, it would be that Marian Hossa came up absolutely empty," said Ferraro following the game.

Re: SCREW YOU HOSSA!!!

There is nothing in sports -- nothing -- that can match the hoisting of the Stanley Cup.

So there were the Penguins in this incredible, almost unimaginable season out there on the ice of Joe Louis Arena raising the most cherished trophy in all of team sports after winning Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final over the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1.

First Sidney Crosby -- the youngest captain ever to do so -- holding that fabled jug over his head; then Bill Guerin, then Sergei Gonchar . . . and, finally, the finest moment of it all -- Mario Lemieux.

The torch has been passed. From Lemieux, the heart and soul of this franchise, to a new generation of wondrous talent.

Letís not forget Dan Bylsma, 38, the coach who brought it about, and Ray Shero, 46, the general manager who put it all together.

And, finally, a special nod to Marian Hossa, 30, the man who made it possible.

Bear with me on this one.

Hossa is the man who turned his back on a lucrative contract offer from the Penguins -- seven years $49 million -- after last season to sign with the Red Wings for one year $7.4 million. It was fiscal idiocy but Hossa had his reasons. The Red Wings, he believed, gave him the best chance to win the Cup.

Forget for a second that Hossa skated off the ice last night not just a post-season flop and a bit of a fool but rather as the ignition switch on this fabulous turn of events.

If Hossa signed with the Penguins, not only would the franchise not have had the salary cap room to sign other important players but -- and as much as his legion of detractors wonít like this -- the Penguins are a better regular-season team with him. Face it, Hossa is a terrific player -- in the regular season -- and there is little doubt the Penguins would not have been floundering as there were in mid February if he were on the team.

Which means Shero would not have pulled the trigger and fired coach Michel Therrien and replaced him with Bylsma. And if that didnít happen this team never would have got to Detroit. The change of coaches is what brought about this remarkable turnaround -- from 10th place in the Eastern Conference to Stanley Cup champion -- and Hossa made that possible.

This victory means so much. It shuts up -- once and for all -- the ridiculous critics of Fleury, who put the absurd demand of perfection on him. Fleury -- and his teammates -- held the mighty Red Wings to a total of two goals in the final two games. If that were not enough, he snuffed out two Detroit chances -- one that had the look of a game-tying goal -- in the final seconds. Fleury didnít win the Conn Smythe, but if he had no one could have argued.

Max Talbot didnít win it either, but he carved his name in Penguins history in such a way that it never will be forgotten. Talbot scored both goals for the Penguins. It couldnít happen to a nicer guy.

Most remarkably, the Penguins won without a point from Crosby, who was injured in the second period and took only one more shift after that. He will have his critics -- the same loudmouths who rejoiced in finding fault with Fleury -- but Detroit coach Mike Babcock said it best about Crosby when -- in that other great hockey tradition, the post-game handshake -- he congratulated the captain on his leadership.

Heís only 21, a kid, but he sets the tone for what is the best hockey team in the world. If he doesnít score a point, his contributions are immense.

The Penguins lost the first two games of this best-of-seven series, which meant they had to do the impossible and beat the great Red Wings four out of five. And thatís what they did.

It was the third Stanley Cup for the franchise, and with all respect to Lemieux and that legendary list of Hall of Famers who were his teammates in 1991 and 1992, this was the best of the bunch.

Re: SCREW YOU HOSSA!!!

DETROIT -- You'll find few nicer guys in the NHL than Marian Hossa. He's a polite chap, a soft-spoken Slovak liked a great deal by most every teammate he's ever had.

But 11 months ago, he slapped the Pittsburgh Penguins in the face, whether he meant to or not, when he turned his back on a five-year, $35 million deal and stunned the hockey world by signing a one-year, $7.45 million deal with Detroit.

"I know myself, I made the right decision," Hossa said on a conference call in July. "But it wasn't easy to throw that much money away. We'll see at the end of next year whether I decided good or not. I truly believe I made the right decision."

One Penguins fan answered that question Friday night when she e-mailed a photo to Pittsburgh Tribune-Review beat writer Rob Rossi of her wearing a Pens jersey with Hossa's old No. 18 with the name "BADCHOICE."

A subdued Hossa came out to meet the media Friday night, just like he has every day during this series, and he answered the same question over and over and over again. He dreamed of winning a Cup in Detroit. Instead, the nightmare scenario became reality for him after the Penguins sealed their win in Game 7.

"That's life, sometimes you make choices," Hossa said. "I still had a great year in this organization. Great guys, great people around. It could go both ways, just one goal makes a difference. You score one more and you celebrate. Sometimes, that's life and you just have to move on. It's a great life experience."

He admitted the pressure of the situation may have got to him. He was scoreless in the seven-game Cup finals series.

"Whether you like it or not, there's lots of pressure," Hossa said. "You learn when the pressure is on and you learn how to handle it. It's squeezing you. It's a pretty tough one. I tried to battle hard, but I couldn't get anything done offensively. ...

Perhaps Penguins fans should be thanking Hossa. After all, if he stayed, perhaps the team doesn't have such a hard time. Perhaps there's no coaching change. Perhaps Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz aren't acquired at the trade deadline.

"Regret? I don't regret it," Hossa said. "It could be different circumstances if I sign in Pittsburgh. They probably couldn't sign some other players and they'd be a different team. We could sit here for hours discussing this, but it would be a different team and it could be different things."

Penguins blueliner Brooks Orpik said some of his teammates might have felt different, but he didn't begrudge Hossa his decision.

"I have nothing but respect for the guy," Orpik said. "I don't feel bad for him, but he was in a difficult situation."

Pierre LeBrun covers the NHL for ESPN.com.

I e-mailed Rossi asking him to post of picture of the "BADCHOICE" jersey in his blog.

Re: SCREW YOU HOSSA!!!

Actually, I don't think Hossa is that bad of a guy. He turned his back on Pittsburgh, and
that was a slap in the face for him to say that the Pens weren't good enough. But you
can't blame the guy for wanting to win. That's what it's all about, isn't it? So many times
we scream at players for being all about the money, but Hossa turned down money to win.